A Walk With The Doom Slayer
by Rujaku
Summary: Rapunzel and Pascal spend some time with a very unexpected guest. A Doom/Tangled crossover one shot.
1. Chapter 1

Gothel's knees ached as she stepped over another large tree root, she was looking forward to getting back to her tower where her daughter would be, then she would be able to easily rid herself of the aches in her body along with the thick locks of gray that had recently started to appear in her hair. A few days from then would be her daughter's birthday and she always made sure that she would be there for it, and more importantly she had been gone for several days now and she never liked leaving what she kept hidden in the forest alone for long.

The woman's face scrunched up in disgust as a thick unpleasant odor she could not identify entered her nose, it seemed to be coming from some far off place. She held her nose as she continued forward, perhaps some animal had died and the body had rotted away?

Her heart skipped a beat when she scanned the area to see if the source of the smell was within her sight when she saw the several stacks of black smoke coming from what she knew was the same place her tower was hidden.

She grabbed her skirt with both of her hands to keep herself from tripping and sprinted as fast as she could to her home ignoring how her aging body was screaming for her to slow down.

The basket fell from her hands when she beheld the tower and by extension the area around it. Demonic and ghoulish creatures she had only thought could exist in her nightmares lay about the open field dead, some dressed in strange metallic armor and armed with equally queer weapons, most of them seemed to have been torn to pieces and disemboweled, small fires littered the once untouched green grass and large stones covered in scorch marks lay scattered about as if blown to pieces.

But Gothel's eyes stared transfixed upon the tower that was once her home. The top of said tower was gone leaving just its smoldering base and spine, the remains of her home swayed lightly as the wind brushed passed it, the groan and cracks of the burnt wood and brick signaling the woman that its remains could come crashing down at any moment.

She snapped out of her shocked trance and began to look about for the one thing she literally could not live without. panic was quickly building in her gut as her search only revealed to her more of the grotesque creatures. She stopped herself standing upright to help fight down her growing anxiety, she needed to be logical about this situation. Truthfully she never considered what would happen to her if her Flower were to die, it was something she had procrastinated on forming a solution to for much longer then she should have, but she knew her daughter was a clever girl so she most likely found a way to escape, she was never the kind of person to hide and pray.

With this thought firmly in her mind she began searching again and instead of looking for a corpse she searched for a sign that she had escaped.

As Gothel's search was nearing the hour mark she let out a single laugh of relief. In the mud near the creek several dozen yards from the towers remains was a set of footprints that could only belong to a small, barefoot girl that seemed to be heading towards the cave that led out into the woods.

She was about to break out into a run hoping that her Flower had not gotten far when something else in the mud caught her eye, it was another set of footprints, but these seemed to be left by a set of boots so large they might be wider then her torso, and none of the creatures that she had inspected seemed to match the prints meaning that it was possible that at least one of those hideous monsters were still alive, now that she stopped to look the same boot prints seemed to be everywhere in the area. Had one of the creatures killed the rest of them? But worst of all they were heading in the same direction as her daughter's.

She ran off in a mad sprint praying that whatever those boot prints belonged to it had not caught her, Flower.

* * *

Rapunzel laughed and squealed with delight as she cartwheeled down the sunlit hill. She was having without any exaggeration the weirdest day of her life.

And now that the horrifying part of it was out of the way she was loving every second of it.

She collapsed on the ground and let out snort of laughter before sitting up to realize she had become slightly tangled in her hair, she felt Pascal climb up onto her head and let out a small croak near her ear, she glanced up at the small reptile to see him pointing to the top of the hill where the strange knight stood looking down at her.

''Oh, Sorry!'' She called up at him with a wave. She leapt up to her feet and ran up the hill while gathering up her hair. ''I've just always wanted to do that, well to be honest there are a lot of things I've always wanted to do, you know?'' Her smile became forced and awkward once she stood before the giant man. He had yet to make a single sound since she had met him. (or perhaps meet was to strong a word to describe how she ended up in her current situation.) It also didn't help that she could not see his face through the glass visor of his helmet and he had yet to holster the strange weapon he held in his massive fists. ''Is there anything you've always wanted to do?'' She asked timidly.

The Giant turned away without a word and marched deeper into the woods.

Rapunzel let out a humorless laugh in an attempt to hide her discomfort as she ran to catch up with the knight. ''Right, why waste time talking about what we want to do when we can just go do it! Right, Pascal?'' The chameleon gave her a less then reassuring smile.

* * *

It had been a rather normal morning for her when the knight and the monsters appeared. She had been in the middle of making lunch for Pascal and herself when a smell more horrid then anything she had ever experienced assaulted her nostrils, she pinched her nose and looked at the small reptile sitting on the table close by, Pascal seemed to be suffering from the stench more then she was, he held both of his paws over his snout and was making a high pitched gagging noise while he began to turn a more pale green.

Just as she was about to investigate where the source of the smell was coming from she let out a shriek as a loud roar erupted in the center of her living room the very air itself split open like a gruesome wound, a swirling red vortex filled the split air while the roaring grew louder.

Rapunzel grabbed hold of her small friend, seized the first object she thought she could use as a weapon and backed into the farthest wall she could find. The very tower began to shake as the noise seemed to be reaching some kind of crescendo, she held out the frying pan she had hastily grabbed during her retreat and brandished it as if it were a sword while clutching Pascal to her chest.

Another shriek escaped her and her companion when a man clad in green armor flew out from the portal and slammed into the tower wall just a dozen feet from her.

The man fell to his knee but quickly stood as if the injury was only a minor inconvenience to him, he was the most peculiar knight she had ever seen. At least she assumed he was a knight, the only knights she had seen were in the picture books she read as a child and she never saw any whom dressed like the one before her now. The armor was bulky and tinted green, it oddly seemed more flexible then the ones she had seen in her stories even though it covered every inch of his body showing no skin or even a hint of where it opened, most of the front of the helmet seemed to be made of some dark glass, scorch and large claw like marks littered several plates of the armor, it wasn't until he stood at his full height that she realized just how massive the man was if she stood chest to chest with him her head would barely reach his collar bone, and the biggest oddity for her was the weapons he carried, the one he held in his hands was a large metal contraption of some sort made of dozens upon dozens of small metal pieces, there was a handle on the bottom with a trigger like the ones she had seen on the crossbows in her books, on the top of the weapon was a rectangular box that seemed to have a glass like material similar to The Knight's helmet at ether end, two metal boxes were attached to its left side, the one closer to the front she did not know the purpose of but the second one which rested closer to the weapons handle had a small opening at the top which seemed to be feeding a belt of odd pointed objects directly into the weapon. She had little time to observe the second weapon strapped to his back when a creature so horrific that she felt nauseous just from the sight alone stepped through the vortex.

The Creature was a massive skeletal like thing wearing an armor chest piece that had what looked to be two metal barrels mounted on the back of it. Its horrible pasty eyes were fixated on the Knight and she was silently grateful for that.

''Doom Slayer.'' The monster hissed just before two red balls of fire launched from the barrels mounted on it's shoulders.

The Knight, or 'Doom Slayer' as the monster knew him dove out of the path of the oncoming flaming projectiles. Rapunzel covered her ears and screamed when the two balls collided with the wall of her tower and exploded almost dropping her friend in the process, destroying the before mentioned wall along with a good deal of her furniture. The knight tucked into a roll after dodging the monsters attack and once he had halted himself he quickly stood with his odd metal weapon raised and attacked.

The noise that came from his weapon was so loud Rapunzel feared she would go deaf, she shrank into a fetal position, still covering her ears and watched as the monster's head seemed to be torn apart by the barrage of seemingly invisible attacks delivered from the Doom Slayer's weapon.

The creature's large body had only just barely touched the ground when more monsters began to climb through the same tear in space as the two before had entered her home through. These monsters were different then the one before, they varied in size, shape, color and even smell. But the one thing they had in common was the apparent desire they all had to kill the Knight.

One of the larger creatures lunged at him, the Doom Slayer let out another barrage of deafening noise from his weapon as he dove out of the creature's path. Rapunzel watched as the Knight began to kill the monsters with practiced ease and horrifying brutality, but much to her dismay it seemed there was no end to the abominations that forced their way into her home.

She covered her mouth in disgust as the Doom Slayer crushed one of the monsters heads beneath his boot when he froze for a beat. She looked down at the floor and felt her heart jump in panic at what had grabbed the Giant's attention. Her golden hair lay just a few feet from the freshly killed monster's pooling blood, the Knight's gaze followed the dizzying tangled path of her hair until she found herself looking directly into the dark glass of his helmet and she knew he was looking right at her, true she could not see hide nor hair of his face but she could feel his eyes burrowing into her.

She must have looked awful. Huddled into a ball at the foot of the staircase, tears staining her eyes and cheeks, clutching Pascal to her chest while the reptile covered its head and shook with fright while her other hand still held her frying pan in some vain hope she could use it to defend herself.

The Doom Slayer tore his gaze away from her when the tear let out another loud roar, the young girl bit back the sudden urge to vomit when the largest monster yet stepped through the tear.

It's head reached the landing of the second floor when it stood upright, its gluttonous body shook repulsively with every one of its waddling steps, it wore a metal chest piece like the first creature that had stepped through the tear her eyes were drawn to the small hole in the monsters chest piece slightly revealing a large organ covered in large yellow boil like growths poorly hidden beneath, but where as the other creature's armor had barrels mounted on its back this one's had two metallic ropes coming out of the shoulder blades of the chest piece and were attached to the creatures gauntlets which held no fingered gloves on the end but instead ended with two deep tunnels which burrowed back into the sleeves of the armor where a strong pale light emitted from within. It's one bright green eye locked almost immediately onto the Knight whom now looked minuscule compared to this new monstrosity, it let out a low guttural roar as the light from its gauntlets began to intensify. A stream of fire jetted out from the monster's gauntlets setting most of the furniture ablaze as well as the curtains leading into the pantry in a vain attempt to burn the Giant as he dodged the flames all the while killing more of the smaller creatures.

Once the fiery assault had ceased the Doom Slayer looked back at her for a moment before grabbing a small oval shaped object on his belt and tucking the large weapon underneath his arm, he lunged towards the corpulent monster and pulled the pin out of the what Rapunzel assumed was another odd weapon he possessed. The Knight ducked underneath a sluggish swipe of the creature's arm and threw his fist forward in a motion that was partially to strike the monster and partially to jam the small weapon into the hole in the creatures chest plate, the Doom Slayer's punch was strong enough to send the creature off balance and make it take several shaking steps backward, as the first off balanced step was taken the Giant released the weapon where it stayed lodged in the now slightly larger hole of his enemies armor and once his hand had separated from the body of the object the small lever on the top popped off with a small ping like noise and flew several inches into the air.

He then turned and ran full sprint at her, moving his weapon from underneath his arm and back into his hand, Rapunzel pressed her back even harder into the wall and began kicking her legs helplessly against the floor in some vain hope of creating more distance between herself and the charging wall of metal man. Then he was upon her, she swung the frying pan in front of her but missed him entirely, she felt one of his massive arms wrap around her waist and pull her off the ground, held her against his side and before she could think to struggle or strike at him to gain her freedom he took a charging leap out the gaping hole in the tower wall beside her sending them both plummeting towards the earth.

Instinctively Rapunzel threw both her arms around the Giant's neck and screamed louder then she could ever remember in her short eighteen years of life fearing this would mean her end, she could feel Pascal cling with all his strength to the shoulder of her dress letting out a high pitched squeal of fright himself.

The Knight fell to one knee when they landed in the mud just a few feet from the creek near the tower, Rapunzel had just stopped screaming when a final shriek ripped out from her throat as she covered her ears with both her hands when the loudest boom she had ever heard echoed throughout the forest. Several stomach churning splats and loud dull thuds followed afterwards.

It wasn't until all was quite that Rapunzel opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was the armored Giant's chest, with more then a little hesitation she looked up at him. He was looking over his shoulder no doubt to check to see if there was any more danger to come, she felt a small flush come to her cheeks when she realized his arm was still around her stomach.

She felt his grip disappear as he stood an began walking away, the girl sat on her legs in the mud watching the Doom Slayer walk away. _He was holding me in front of his chest,_ she pondered. _Was he trying to keep me safe?_

She snapped out of her thoughts when Pascal's tongue hit her cheek. She scowled at the reptile as she wiped the saliva from her face. Her hand fell from her limply when she saw the tower which as she suspected was the source of the deafening boom.

The top of the tower was now gone only leaving the spine and several smoldering rocks at the top, the remains of the tower as well as the monsters now decorated the grass in small and large chunks, she vomited into the creek when she saw the half eviscerated head of a monster splattered across a rock close by.

Her breath came to her in short rasping gulps, her home was gone. What was she to do now, where was she supposed to go-

it suddenly dawned on her where she was currently standing. She was outside, for the first time in her life she was outside of her tower. She looked down at the mud and grass she stood in and wiggled her toes giggling slightly at the odd feeling the plant and muck left on her feet. The sound of a snapping branch (or possibly the bone of a severed limb) gained her attention, the Doom Slayer was heading towards the cave that she had seen her mother use countless times. She felt torn suddenly, part of her told herself that she should wait here for Gothel's return that no doubt would be the safest option, but on the other hand following him may be her best chance (and if she were being honest only chance) to explore the world outside her grove and maybe, just maybe if she played her cards perfectly she could convince him to take her to see the lights that would arise in the sky in just a few days.

She glanced at Pascal whom was sitting on her shoulder, the cold-blooded animal shook his head in protest seeming to know exactly which choice she was leaning towards. ''It's not like this mess is going anywhere,'' She said with a grin. ''And who knows? Maybe when we get back Mother will let us rebuild the house on the ground.'' Pascal rolled his eyes and held on tight to her dress as she sprinted after the Giant with a gleeful squeal.

* * *

And that's how she found herself walking through the woods getting distracted and wandering off every few seconds by some new anomaly that would catch her eye, but she always made sure she would catch up with the Knight, as excited as she was, being alone out here was still a rather frightening prospect to her.

She looked up at the sun setting sky through the tree branches, they had been walking for the entire afternoon with no real sign of where they were headed. Or rather she had no idea where they were going, if the Giant did he had not said so, in fact he had still not uttered a single word or made any sound at all. ''Um...It just occurred to me that I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Rapunzel.'' She waited. The Doom Slayer kept walking, for all she knew he hadn't even heard her. ''Oh, oh and this is Pascal!'' She plucked the small creature off the top of her head, ran to stand in front of the Knight and presented her friend by holding him out in the palms of her hands. The Doom Slayer tilted his head just enough so that she knew he was looking right at her, his head tilted downward again to look at what sat in her hands. Pascal curled into a shaking ball and changed colors to match that of Rapunzel's skin.

The girl swallowed nervously, even though he had not given any sign that he would harm her or her friend, standing directly in front of the metal man was almost as frightening as the monsters she had seen him kill. The Doom Slayer stepped around the girl and continued into the forest.

Pascal and Rapunzel watched him disappear into a thicker section of the woods, this was the seventh time she had tried talking to him and it was as she expected another utter failure. The reptile turned its head up to the young woman and fixed her with a disapproving look.

''What?'' She asked with a shrug. ''Aren't you even a little bit curious about him?''

Her friend gave a slow almost mocking shake of his head, his front paws crossed over his chest.

''Well like it or not, the safest place I can think of being right now is with him.'' She placed the animal on her shoulder and jogged into the thick foliage to catch up with the mysterious knight.

She didn't have to travel far, the Doom Slayer stood in a small clearing not too far from where he had left her, he was currently laying down a series of stones in a circle, being able to guess his intentions Rapunzel began to gather fallen branches and piling them up next the stone ring. she sat across from the Giant and watched with fascination as he built the fire and lit it by rubbing two of the sticks together. She had built fires herself but she had always lit them with a piece of flint and steel.

Her attention was stolen by the growling of her stomach, she glanced at the Giant and a thought struck her. _Was he hungry, did he even get hungry?_ ''I'm going to go find some food…'' She stood and slowly moved to the edge of the clearing giving a glance over her shoulder as she went. He hadn't even moved from his place next to the fire.

She let out a low harrumph. Would it kill him to at least acknowledge she was speaking to him? Honestly, the only time he ever even interacted with her since they left the tower was when she forced herself into his field of view. Did he even care that she was with him? Part of her reassured herself that he did, because if he didn't why would he slow his pace or even stop and wait for her when she wondered off to inspect the countless things that had drawn her attention that afternoon. She wished he would at least speak though. Could he even speak? Perhaps he was a mute? Was he even human?

That thought froze her in her tracks. What exactly was he in the first place? He had appeared with those...things from who even knew where, so there was no way to tell if he was like one of those creatures.

She shivered and retched at the thought. So what would he look like? A small blush came to her face when she thought of him looking similar to the princes from her fairy tale books, but then she remembered that the men in those stories usually were well spoken and gentlemanly.

Perhaps he looked like the rugged men from the risque books she liked that her Mother hid in her nightstand. That seemed to fit a bit better, tall, dark, adventurous, with a slight amount of stubbly facial hair.

But again for all she knew he could be a three eyed monster with tusks and tentacles for toes underneath that suit.

Delight filled her when she stumbled upon a small blackberry bush, she pulled up her skirt to use it as a makeshift basket and began gathering as much of the fruit as she could.

The sun had completely set when she returned to the fire, the Doom Slayer sat upon a large stone, his arms resting on his legs and one of his weapons draped across his lap. ''I found some blackberries,'' She said with a slightly full mouth, she had already eaten several of the larger ones on her way back. ''Would you like some?''

Rapunzel offered a handful of dark fruit to the man, he looked up from the ground at her, the reflection of the fire danced across his visor giving him an almost hellish look, he slowly shook his head and for the briefest of moments she could almost see the silhouette of one of his eyes and cheekbone, but it was gone so quickly she wasn't even sure it had been there in the first place.

She sat down across from him with her berries and Pascal in her lap she ate and hummed quietly to herself, occasionally she would steal a glance up from the fire at the man but he never moved.

* * *

When she awoke in the morning there was a painful crick in her neck, a low groan escaped her as she sat up. This had been the first time she had ever slept anywhere except her bed. She smiled slightly at the sight of Pascal sleeping, curled up in the trail of her hair.

It was much earlier then she normally got up, the sky still held a great deal of pink colors, she wished she had her paints and brushes so she could practice painting the colors of the sunrise, it was always a challenge for her to get them just right.

Her eyes wandered across the now extinguished fire and to the Doom Slayer. He still sat upon the stone and had not moved an inch, if not for the fact that his head was slightly tilted downward she would think he had stayed awake the entirety of the night. Briefly she wondered if he was dead rather then asleep, he gave no sign that he was breathing, his chest did not move and his shoulders didn't rise and fall.

Her gaze fell to the weapon that still rested in his lap, this one was a great deal different then the one he had used back in the tower, the handle was made of wood and was reminiscent of a crossbows, resting horizontally upon the wooden base were two metal tubes stained with what was no doubt blood, from the corner of her vision she saw his other weapon resting against the tree that stood no more then three feet to his left.

She knew she shouldn't, it would be wrong of her to do, but it was much to tempting. She felt Pascal crawl up her dress and yawn once he sat on her shoulder. Slowly and very cautiously she moved around the campfire, Pascal gave a low croak of protest that she tried to ignore as she took hold of the weapon.

It was much heavier then it looked, she almost had to lean backwards to support its weight. She held it the same way she had seen the Doom Slayer had but made sure that she kept her fingers away from the trigger, she noticed that there was a small dial and button just above the trigger, she turned the weapon in every direction she could as she observed it. How did it work? She knew it made a lot of noise, the small objects in the metal box would be fed into the weapon and small metal pieces would fly out its opposite side when the trigger was pulled but that was all she knew.

She felt Pascal tap her cheek, she lightly shook her shoulder to get him to stop but he only intensified his jabbing.

She turned her head to look at him. ''What?'' She said in a whispering hiss. And from the corner of her eye she saw what the reptile was so desperate for her to see.

The Doom Slayer had raised his head and was looking directly at them.

She spun around, eyes wide and slightly pale. She began to babble incoherently, eventually the only thing that she was able to say was a small meager. ''I'm sorry.'' The girl hung her head slightly and held the weapon out to him.

The Doom Slayer rose to his feet and instead of taking back his weapon he walked over to one of the larger trees and picked a pine cone larger than his fist up from the ground and placed it upon a low hanging branch almost level with her head.

He walked back and stood beside her, he lifted his twin tubed weapon up pointing toward the pine cone with his feet apart and knees bent. And then he looked at her.

She watched him for a moment before it dawned on her what he wanted. She shifted her feet until they were roughly shoulder width apart and slightly bent her knees, then held the weapon up so it pointed towards the branch. The Giant reached over to her and turned the dial above the trigger until it clicked twice, then he stood up straight and waited.

She glanced back and forth between him and the pine cone, he gave a single slow nod. She bit back her nervousness as she curled her index finger around the trigger while Pascal covered his ears.

The kick was so strong it knocked her flat onto her rear, her ears were ringing, Pascal had almost been thrown off her shoulder from the force of the weapon and her fall, she was amazed she hadn't dropped the weapon. Much to her surprise the Doom Slayer offered his hand to her, she took the offered hand and pulled herself to her feet with a grunt. She held the weapon awkwardly with one hand so she could rub her now hurt rear with the other one, the Giant cocked his head towards the branch. ''Again?'' She asked discouraged. He gave another slow nod.

Swallowing dryly she assumed the same stance as before but as her finger began to reach for the trigger she froze when one of the Doom Slayer's hands rested atop the weapon and the other came into contact with her shoulder to keep her in place, he moved the weapon back until the end of it firmly pressed against her shoulder, he then moved his hand from her shoulder to her back and placed his other hand on her stomach. Rapunzel flushed as he tilted her forward slightly, this was the first time a man or anyone other then her mother for that matter had touched her. His gentleness surprised her as well, just yesterday she had literally seen this man crush a monster's head with the same fist that now rested against her belly, he handled her like she was a glass figurine, as if one wrong move would break her into a thousand pieces. She bit her lip to keep herself from giggling when he crouched down and adjusted the stance of her legs, he stood and for the first time since they had met she looked him in the face without any sign of fear or nervousness, he gestured to his face with two fingers then pointed to the rectangle box on the top of the weapon.

She pressed her cheek into the cold metal so that she could look into the glass end of the box and found it was like looking into a spyglass with a small blue circle in the center. She raised her head slightly to glance at the Giant, he watched her as still as a statue his own weapon strapped to his back and his arms crossed over his chest. She took a deep breath as she looked through the box again, her hands were shaking making it hard to keep the pine cone inside the blue circle.

The kick rocked her backwards but she was able to keep herself from falling, unfortunately the pine cone still rested on the branch unharmed, she noted that the tree that stood behind the one she was using for target practice now possessed a hole she could easily fit her fist into. How was this weapon so powerful, and on top of that how did it even work? She was starting to suspect that perhaps it was some kind of magic. It wasn't that much of a stretch in logic she decided, after all she had magic hair that glowed when she sang.

She recreated to the best of her abilities the position the Doom Slayer had put her in before she had been knocked off balance, when she felt confident enough that she would not be thrown to the ground again she looked into the box. Her hands were still shaking, her tongue poked out from the corner of her mouth in concentration, she closed one of her eyes, she gripped the weapon tighter but still she could not keep her aim steady.

With a huff of frustration she lowered the weapon so it pointed towards the ground. With a bit of reluctance she craned her head to gaze at the Knight silently seeking his guidance once more.

Without having to utter a single word he seemed to understand. He placed a hand over his chest and as his chest deflated the hand moved down to his belly and when his chest rose with a deep breath the hand slid back up to his chest.

''Deep breaths,'' Rapunzel questioned. ''That's it?'' He gave no answer to her question.

She raised the weapon up and breathed deeply through her mouth, it seemed odd to her that this was what she needed to do to hit her target considering whenever she breathed like this she was out of breath from exercising or she needed to calm herself. But maybe that's exactly what she needed to do was relax, the noise made her ears ring and she didn't like that very much, the kick from the weapon hurt her shoulder and most of all she was nervous about making a fool of herself in front of him.

She closed her eyes and breathed slowly and deeply several times before opening one of her eyes and taking aim, the blue circle inside the box still shook but it was nowhere near as bad as before. Her finger curled around the trigger as she took one final breath.

The pine cone exploded in a spectacular fashion taking a good chunk of the thick branch with it. ''I hit it!'' Rapunzel cheered looking towards the Doom Slayer with a wide toothy grin. Pascal gave a congratulating croak in her ear and clapped his paws together.

The Doom Slayer looked from the remnants of the target to meet her gaze, and held up one hand giving her a small thumbs up.

She smiled bashfully for a moment then handed him back his weapon and spoke with a small blush on her cheeks. ''Thank you.''

He bent down, picked something out of the grass and handed it to her as he took back his weapon. She held it in both of her hands. She knew what it was, it was the things that flew out of the weapon when you pulled the trigger. It was a tube with a closed bottom slightly longer and thicker then her finger and was made of a material similar to copper. .50 FMJ was engraved on the bottom.

She held the hot piece of metal in her hand and watched the Doom Slayer walk into the forest. A soft sigh escaped her lips and a faint pink blush dusted her cheeks as she stared after him.

A noise from her shoulder pulled her away from her faraway gaze. She looked at Pascal who was giving her a look of shock and disbelief.

''What?'' She asked slowly.

With an accusing look on his face Pascal pointed to the Giant then to her, turned bright red and twisted his tail into a heart shape.

Rapunzel's face turned almost as red as Pascal was at that moment. ''I do not!'' She shouted. The reptile cocked his brow at her as he returned to his natural color.

She started to follow the Doom Slayer into the woods the metal tube held tightly in one of her hands. ''I don't!'' She argued. Pascal rolled his eyes with a smug grin.

Yesterday had been without a doubt the weirdest day of their lives. And it now seemed that the weirdness was not going to end anytime soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Because two people asked for it i give you the second chapter of the dumbest thing i think I've ever written.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

It was nearly midday when they found a road, the deep grooves that had been worn into the ground from countless wagons and carts left a clear sign that it was frequently traveled on.

And it was after another hour of following said road that they came upon a tavern in the distance, it appeared rather run down and the massive tree beside it had grown so large that the entire rear of the building was angled upward. The signpost they stood beside read ''The Snuggly Duckling.'' Rapunzel felt uncertain about going in, she was about to suggest to the Giant that maybe they should keep along the path when her stomach gave a loud growl for the second time that day. The Doom Slayer looked down at her embarrassed blush that she attempted to hide behind a less then convincing smile. She did not wish to admit it but she was starving, the blackberries she had eaten could only stave off her desire for food so long.

The Doom Slayer cocked his head in the taverns direction before walking down the road, Rapunzel following close behind.

Once they stood before the door to the tavern Rapunzel could hear countless voices and clattering of objects from within, she felt Pascal cling to her neck, she wasn't blaming him she herself had to fight the urge to grab onto the Doom Slayer, the closer they came to the tavern her mind began to fill with the stories her Mother told her of dangerous people who would kidnap her to use the power of her hair for their own gain. The Giant reached out one of his hands and opened the door.

The inside of the tavern was poorly lit and slightly smoky, there were several thick odors that she could not identify strangely the only word she could think of to describe it was ''Brown'', the room was filled with men all dressed in differing armor and fur, they held a variety of weapons, swords, axes, spears, crossbows. The noise died the moment the sunlight entered the tavern and all eyes fell on the the trio standing in the doorway, the Giant ducked his head under the door frame and walked inside with no sign of concern while the young woman followed behind him so closely that she was nearly pressed against his back, she could hear the patrons begin to mutter to each other while they watched them enter. Just as Rapunzel began to relax she felt a sharp tug on her hair. Her head whipped around to see one of the men holding her hair in both his hands. ''Pretty hair.'' He said in his low gruff voice.

She quickly ran back and began gathering up her trail of hair to free herself. ''Thanks, I'm...growing it out.'' She said lamely as she back peddled away, she bumped into someone she let out a small breath, the person she had bumped into was tall and solid, she craned her head around expecting to see the Doom Slayer behind her but her face fell when she met eyes with an almost equally large man wearing a helmet with two large horns protruding from the sides. ''Whats your name, Girly?''

She began to back away again. ''Rapunzel.'' She answered in a low voice just before her back met with the bar. The men began to swarm round her some speaking the others simply staring her down. From the corner of her eye she saw Pascal move to the edge of her shoulder and turn a deep shade of crimson clearly trying to intimidate the men but they took no notice of the small reptile. Her eyes scanned the room but she could not see the Doom Slayer, she felt suffocated being crowded around, her heart was hammering within her chest as they all drew closer, all the words they said to her became a blur as a countless number of them asked her questions.

A large familiar hand seized one of the men's shoulders and shoved him back knocking several others backwards in a domino effect, Rapunzel felt her cheeks warm at the sight of the Giant moving to stand in front of her in a what she could only assume was a protective manner. This seemed to anger the men as they approached the two again. ''That's some fancy armor.'' One said.

''Fetch a pretty price I bet.'' Another said.

''Those odd weapons he's got would too.'' A third chuckled.

She saw the Knight's grip tighten on his metal weapon, the twin tubed one still attached to his back, as the men began to reach for their own weapons Rapunzel began to foresee this place meeting the same grisly and destructive fate as her home.

She leapt atop the bar and grabbed the closest thing to her. She lifted the empty bottle and threw it as hard as she could into the crowd, it hit a short bald man with a hook for a left hand in the head hard enough to shatter her makeshift projectile, oddly the man seemed nonplussed he still wore the same scowl as before, but her action had received the outcome she wanted the entire room was still and not a single sound could be heard other then the fire currently burning within the hearth nearby, every eye was fixated on her waiting for her to break the silence.

Rapunzel jumped down from the bar and walked into the small open area between the Doom Slayer and the men. ''Okay,'' She started saying to the taverns patrons after a deep breath. ''Yesterday I saw enough death and gore to last me a lifetime, and now I don't know where I am but the lights are going to float into the sky tomorrow and he,'' She pointed back at the Giant for emphasis. ''Is the best chance I have of getting to them safely, and seeing them has been something I've dreamed of my entire life! So I'm begging you to please find your humanity, haven't any of you had a dream?''

The same bald man that she had struck with the bottle unsheathed the ax on his back and marched up to her, she pursed her lips and felt her arms lock themselves to her sides, but she stood her ground despite her growing fear. Once the hook handed man stood just a foot away his face turned from a scowl to a much softer thoughtful expression and spoke in an almost mournful way. ''I had a dream once.'' He spoke before throwing his ax to his right. Rapunzel followed the path of the flying weapon where it lodged itself into the wall just an inch or two above the head of frightened looking minstrel seated on a stool, the minstrel began to play an instrument she had never seen before and the most shocking to her of all was that when she met the hook handed man's eyes again he began to sing.

'' _I'm malicious, mean and scary. My sneer could curdle dairy, and violence wise, my hands are not the cleanest_!'' Rapunzel recoiled slightly as she looked at the portion of the floor the man gestured to see what was clearly a very large bloodstain. She followed the man as he climbed atop what appeared to be a small seldom used stage surrounded by barrels. '' _But despite my evil look, and my temper, and my hook, I've always yearned to be a concert pianist_.'' A smile crept onto her face as the man began to expertly play the old beaten piano on the stage. '' _Can't you see me on the stage preforming Mozart, tickling the ivories till they gleam? Yep, I'd rather be called deadly for my killer show tune medley. Cause way down deep inside I've got a dream_!''

'' _He's got a dream, He's got a dream_!'' The crowd cheered in tune to the song.

Rapunzel sat down beside the piano and was now smiling from ear to ear. '' _See, I ain't as cruel and vicious as I seem. Though I do like breaking femurs you can count me with the dreamers like everybody else, I've got a dream_!''

A man with a large nose and wearing a metal cap with wings on it approached Rapunzel and offered his hand, she took it without hesitation and let out a small squeal of delight as he twirled her off of the stage and back onto the floor before he too began to sing. '' _I've got scars and lumps and bruises, plus something here that oozes. And lets not even mention my complexion. But despite my extra toes and my goiter and my nose, I really want to make a love connection_!'' Rapunzel felt touched as the man handed her a daisy before jumping into an empty washtub where a small old man who was clearly drunk was already reclining, he grabbed a nearby halberd and used it to push the washtub and its occupants along the floor. '' _Can't you see me with special little lady, rolling in a rowboat down the stream?_ '' Once he was across the floor he leapt up to his feet holding the old man against his chest with one arm. '' _Though I'm one disgusting blighter I'm a lover, Not a fighter. Cause way down deep inside I've got a dream_!''

'' _He's got a dream, He's got a dream_!'' The crowd cheered again in tune, this time with the Young Woman joining them.

'' _And I know one day romance will reign supreme. Though my face leaves people screaming there's a child behind it dreaming. Like everybody else, I've got a dream_!''

Others then approached Rapunzel introducing her to others while the crowd singed on.

'' _Toll would like to quit and be a florist_!'' She watched mesmerized as the man Toll quickly created a center piece out of a few calla lilies, three skulls, a helmet and strangely enough a living rat.

'' _Gunther does interior design_!'' Rapunzel eyed the decorated corner curiously, the painting of the sad puppy perplexed her.

'' _Urf is into mime_!'' She chuckled as a man in black and white makeup slid past her with a bow.

'' _Attila's cupcakes are sublime_!'' A man whose face was hidden underneath his helmet approached the Young Woman and presented a tray of freshly baked treats. Rapunzel didn't hesitate to take one, all the sudden excitement had made her forget how hungry she was.

'' _Bruiser knits, Killer sews_!'' Rapunzel grimaced as she watched a man knit a small sock while another man sat beside him stitching a wound on his arm closed.

'' _Fang does little puppet shows_!'' She watched as a crude crocodile puppet danced across one of the tables.

'' _And Vladimir collects ceramic unicorns_!'' Rapunzel had just taken a bite of her cupcake when she turned around and looked up at the large man she had bumped into originally whom was holding two small unicorn figures barely a third the size of his own fingers, they locked eyes for a moment before the man smiled warmly at her, she returned the smile before taking another bite of the desert.

''What about you?'' Rapunzel's head whipped around to see the patrons again had swarmed around the Doom Slayer, she took note that he was now in a more relaxed pose, his weapon was resting atop the bar and his arms were crossed over his chest. ''Yeah, whats your dream?'' Another said as they all got closer to the Giant.

The Young Woman stuffed the last of her food into her mouth as she ran in front of the crowd. ''Oh no, no, no.'' She said once she swallowed her food and began to gently push the crowd away from the Giant fearing they would make him angry. ''He doesn't sing.'' She explained. She could feel the Doom Slayer's eyes on her and that made her feel a bit self conscious. She wasn't sure why, then she remembered how chivalrous he had looked when he had pushed the men away from her, how her heart fluttered in her breast when he had given her that piece of copper after teaching her how to use his weapon earlier this morning and that Pascal had accused her of having a crush on him.

Which was completely ridiculous, why would she have a crush on him? He had never even spoken to her, not to mention that she still had not seen his face. It's not like those things made him all the more enticing because there was an air of mystery about him that made her want to be close to him and just because she had never felt as safe with him then ever before in her life meant she liked him...right?

''I've got a dream!'' She called out partially being swept up in the song and partially to distract herself from her own thoughts.

'' _She's got a dream!_ '' The patrons Sang making the music pick up once again. Some raised their tankards to her in cheer, others grabbed onto her and lifted her onto one of the tables so all could see her as she sang.

'' _I've got a dream. I just want to see the floating lights gleam, and with every passing hour I'm actually glad I lost my tower. Like all you lovely folks, I've got a dream_!''

Everyone except for the Giant and Pascal who had seated himself on the bar beside the Doom Slayer's weapon since the singing started began to sing in unison although the chameleon did bob his head in tune with the music. '' _She's got a dream, He's got a dream, They've got a dream, We've got a dream! So our differences ain't really that extreme, We're one big team!_ ''

'' _Call us brutal_!''

'' _Sick, sadistic and grotesquely optimistic_!''

'' _Cause way down deep inside we've got a dream_!''

'' _I've got a dream_ ,'' The hook handed man sang.

'' _I've got a dream_ ,'' Cheered the man with the large nose and metal cap.

'' _I've got a dream_ ,'' Bellowed Vladimir.

'' _Yes, way down deep inside, I've got a dream_!'' They all cried as the song reached it's end. Oddly the moment the music stopped the small drunk man fell from the ceiling and into Rapunzel's open arms.

* * *

It was not long after, that Rapunzel was seated at one of the tables with a plate of food in front of her that she ate greedily from, the food looked rather frightening but tasted heavenly. The patrons all stood and sat around her taking turns to ask her questions. She felt slightly uncomfortable being the center of attention but all the men were cheery and moderately polite so she didn't mind too much. It was a great improvement from the first time they had approached her.

''So what's this dream of yours you mentioned earlier, Goldie?'' The hook handed man asked from his seat beside her.

''The lights?'' She said around a mouth full of food. ''Every year on my birthday lights float up into the sky and I have always wanted to see them up close.''

One of the men cocked his brow. ''Do you mean the lantern ceremony they do for the princess?''

Rapunzel swallowed her food and turned to face the man. ''Their lanterns?''

''Yeah,'' The man in the metal cap answered. ''It's a ceremony the king and queen hold for the lost princess.''

The hook handed man cleared his throat once he saw the young woman's puzzled look. ''The story goes that eighteen years ago tomorrow the queen gave birth to a little girl, and the same night after the Princess' birth she was stolen right out of her crib.''

Rapunzel gaped at the man beside her. ''That's awful.''

the man in the metal cap continued the tale. ''She was never found, and so every year on the birthday of the Princess the whole town releases lanterns into the sky so that the Princess can find her way home.''

Rapunzel looked down at Pascal whom was sitting on the table beside her plate. The reptile smiled at her weakly.

''But the village always celebrates the day,'' Vladimir said to raise the girl's spirit. ''I like to think the King and Queen encourage them to celebrate so the Princess will feel welcome if she does return on that day.''

The other patrons began to recall the times to her that they had spent the festivities in the kingdom. Rapunzel listened to the stories of dancing, drinking, the food and music. She smiled as the crowd became lively as they told their tales but the moment her eyes fell on the Doom Slayer her attention was solely fixated at him. He had not moved from the bar, his arms still crossed and standing still as a statue. She excused herself from the table, fetched a fresh plate of food from the cook and approached the Giant with a smile.

''Hi.'' She said once she stood in front of him. He didn't respond to her greeting but at this point she expected it. ''I thought you might be hungry.'' the Girl offered the plate to him. ''I know it doesn't look very appetizing but it tastes great.''

The Doom Slayer took the plate from her and set it on the bar beside him. ''I know this is going to sound strange, but do you eat?'' She asked. ''I'm asking because I haven't seen you eat anything since we met, and I don't want you to go hungry.''

The Giant gave his usual slow single nod as an answer.

''So you do eat, just not very often?'' Another nod. ''Do you take your helmet off to eat or can you eat with it on?''

* * *

Gothel saw the tavern in the distance, she had never been there herself normally she did everything in her power to avoid any place to close to her tower but the foot and boot prints she had been following since yesterday lead right to it. She placed her hand on the dagger attached to her belt and pulled the hood of her cloak over her head as she walked past the sign that read ''The Snuggly Duckling.''

Instead of entering she crept along the side of the building, she could hear the muffled sound of voices from within once she stood beside one of the dirty windows. She peeked into the tavern, it was all filled with men at first glance. She would have moved on knowing that the stories she had told her Flower over the years would have left her much to afraid to even approach men like them if not for the fact that the tracks she followed clearly led to the front door.

She looked again and found what she sought after, standing near the end of the bar was her Flower talking to a massive man in armor she had never seen before. But what shocked her the most was that her Daughter did not look frightened or even nervous. She was talking animatedly at the massive knight, she could not hear what she was saying but the way she was talking seemed odd to the aging woman. Her daughter had this odd glow around her cheeks as she talked to the Knight, she kept smiling nervously and would shyly avert her gaze at times, she kept brushing her hair behind her ears and she could swear she saw a faint dusting of pink on her face every time the Knight would slowly nod or shake his head. It all felt vaguely familiar to her.

Gothel ground her teeth while trying to formulate a plan to get her Daughter away from these people but nothing sprang to mind. Rapunzel and the Giant conversed for a few minutes longer then the young woman gave the Knight a small wave and walked away towards the table where Gothel could see most of the patrons had gathered around and her daughter's pet reptile sat. She moved away from the window to avoid being seen, she pinched the bridge of her nose and pressed her eyes closed so hard they hurt. How in the world was she supposed to get her Flower back from someone like that? Plus now if they stayed there it would mean having to deal with all the bandits, bounty hunters, thugs and who knew what else was inside.

Just as the first sign of a headache began to form in the front of her skull she felt herself gag, something smelled horrid. She opened her eyes and looked out into the woods faintly she could hear something in the distance pushing through the brush. It was then that she recognized it, it was the same horrid smell from yesterday that had come from her tower.

* * *

Rapunzel glanced over her shoulder at the Doom Slayer as she made her way back to her table, a small smile appearing on her face as she looked into his glass visor. The smile was still there when she sat back down and picked up her fork, after a few bites of her food she looked up at the men around her who had all gone quiet and took notice that they were all smiling knowingly at each other. She glanced down at Pascal who was giving her a similar smile with his paws crossed over his chest, she cocked her brow and let her eyes roam about the men again until the man in the metal cap spoke gaining her attention. ''Truly there is nothing more enchanting then a maiden in love.'' He sighed dreamily.

Rapunzel sputtered and gaped at the numerous patrons around her table now all looking at her. ''We-I-no.'' She managed to get out. ''We're not in love!''

''I never said both of you were, I just meant you.''

She could feel how red her face had become, not just from the implication her new friend had made or that she was yet again the center of attention among the group, but because there was no doubt in her mind that the man they had come to the conclusion that she was in love with could hear everything they had said. She kept her eyes fixed on the table in fear that if she looked up she would see the Doom Slayer's gaze fixated on her.

It was one thing to suggest that she had a crush on the man, but being in love with him?

She had never been in love before, not in the romantic sense. She wasn't even sure what it meant to be in love, she knew what maternal love was, and because of her friendship with Pascal she knew what love was between friends, she even knew what the act of making love was thanks to the risque books her mother sometimes brought home and failed to hide from her. But being _in_ love? That concept felt so outlandish to her, the descriptions of love in the cheesy romance novels and fairy tales that she had read over the years seemed nowhere close to the complicated feelings she had towards the Doom Slayer.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a horrid screech echoed from outside. ''What was that?'' Vladimir asked no one in particular. ''Did someone kill a warthog or something?''

Rapunzel felt a chill run up her spine when she saw the Giant grab his weapon from the bar and head for the front door. She jumped up and ran to him but by the time she reached the front door he had closed it behind him. She went to the window and looked out to see the Doom Slayer standing in the middle of the road, it was only a few seconds later when the same kind of creature that had appeared in her tower yesterday leapt out of the trees at the Giant screeching with it's claws bared ready to strike, before it could get to close the Doom Slayer raised his weapon and attacked, when the creature hit the ground it was missing most of it's head, and then it seemed all hell broke loose.

Numerous creatures leapt out from the bushes and charged the Knight, Rapunzel watched as the Doom Slayer began to effortlessly kill the monsters while dodging their attacks, oddly she found herself smile while she watched the gory display. The Knight seemed to be in complete control of the situation despite the overwhelming number of monsters and because of that she felt safe.

And then a new monster ripped through the trees. It was massive even larger then the Doom Slayer, unlike the other creatures who were ether thin or fat this one was all muscle, there were no eyes or a nose just a large mouth with no lips filled with rotten jagged teeth. It's roar was low and loader then any monster from before. The Doom Slayer pointed his weapon at the creature but before he could pull the trigger the massive enemy struck with it's claws, and much to the young girls horror she watched as the Knight was sent flying backwards from the massive demon's strike, the Giant slammed hard against a nearby tree and for a moment fell to one knee before standing, again he aimed his weapon and this time pulled the trigger without interruption. Several large holes appeared in the demon's chest but it did not even flinch, it only seemed to enrage the monster.

That one moment shook her to her core, since she had met the Doom Slayer she had thought nothing could stand against him but now the illusion was shattered and saw that he was in fact mortal. She leapt back with a small shout of fear when one of the monsters slammed against the window clearly trying to get inside.

A hand grabbed her wrist and her attention turned to the hook handed man who pulled her towards the bar. She glanced over her shoulder once they stood behind the bar in time to see the window shatter from the monster slam against it a second time. The others inside the bar were grabbing weapons and piling barrels and crates in front of the other windows.

Her friend grabbed one of the bar taps and pulled it down hard, the floor behind the bar opened to reveal a passageway underground. ''Go,'' He said as he held out his hand so Pascal could crawl from his hand to her shoulder. ''These tunnels will lead you to the old dam site.''

She placed a hand on the reptile. ''What about all of you?''

The man chuckled. ''We know these woods better than anyone, those things won't catch us. Now go...live your dream.''

She hugged the man before he ran off to help his comrades. She glanced down at the passage her desire to run filling every fiber of her being, but she still found herself turning back towards the front door cupping her hands around her mouth and shouting as loud as she could. ''Doom Slayer!''

For a moment there was silence it was interrupted by the loud boom of the Giant's twin tubed weapon firing, the front door of the tavern exploded inward a few seconds later when the Doom Slayer slammed his shoulder into it. Almost immediately their gazes met and he ran towards her, Rapunzel didn't move for a moment slightly in shock not from the door being completely destroyed by the Giant but from the fact that he had come to her when she called out to him. She watched the Giant bend down mid stride and pick up her trail of hair in his free hand, she turned and began to run down the tunnel, the Young Woman looked back over her shoulder just in time to see the Doom Slayer leap over the bar to follow after her and to her horror also to see the massive faceless monster tearing apart the doorway as it forced it's way into the tavern while letting out a low roar.

Rapunzel's heart pounded in her chest as she ran as fast as she could through the long dark tunnel, she could hear the monster close behind them which only made her heart pound faster, the only comfort she had was knowing that the Doom Slayer was right behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder and felt panic grip her at the sight of the massive monster which was no more then twenty feet behind them.

And then it happened. Perhaps there was a stone in her way, or maybe there was a small hole she fell into, or she had just stepped poorly, whatever it was would always be a mystery to her but it would not change the fact that in the same moment she saw the monster behind them she had tripped. She stumbled forward trying to catch herself, and because she stumbled the Doom Slayer was forced to break his stride in order not to run into her, and when he broke his stride the monster caught them. She didn't see what happened but she heard the noise of the monsters claws striking the Doom Slayer's armor with enough force to throw him forward and into the young woman. The two hit the ground hard, Rapunzel fell onto her stomach and hit her head against the ground, Pascal was thrown from her shoulder and landed on his back a few paces away from her head, whereas the Giant was hit hard enough to send him flying over her entirely and land on his side in front of her.

Rapunzel pushed herself up to her knees as she felt a small bit of blood begin to seep from her nostrils. She felt someones breath against the back of her head, horrified she looked over her shoulder to see the monster right behind her with one of its clawed hands raised to strike. Before the creature struck a burst of noise from behind her echoed throughout the tunnel and several holes appeared on the creatures chest adding to the several that were already there, this time it was enough to make the monster take a step back. The Young Woman's head whipped back to the Giant and saw him firing at the monster from a kneeling position, her head whipped back around to the monster when it let out a guttural roar, more holes appeared in its body but it seemed to do little to stop it, something caught Rapunzel's attention from the corner of her eye, the Doom Slayer's Twin tubed weapon was lying beside her, he must have dropped it when they were hit from behind. In a panicked rush she grabbed the weapon and turned back to the monster, it seemed to finally be slowing down from the Giant's attacks but it still had enough strength to charge her the moment she turned to it.

She froze for a fraction of a second everything the Doom Slayer had taught her that morning eluded her. In a panic she raised the weapon and just before the creature grabbed her she pulled the trigger.

The boom was deafening and made her ears ring worse then the weapon she used before, the kick was strong enough to knock her flat onto her back, she felt blood splatter her arms and stomach as she fell backwards and a loud thud sounded from in front of her. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and felt herself gag at the sight only a few inches from her feet. The monster lay dead on the ground with half its face missing, blood, bone, skin and parts of its insides pooling near her feet. She dropped the weapon she held and crawled backwards in a panic away from the gory scene, she stopped when her back met with the Doom Slayer's legs. She looked up at him her breathing coming out in small frantic breaths. He didn't look back at her, he simply stepped around her and retrieved his weapon and placed it on his back before returning to her and offering his hand to help her up. She grabbed his hand with both of her own and with the Giant's help rose to her feet, she continued to hold the Doom Slayer's hand once she stood, she tried to speak but the only noise that came from her was the sharp rapid gasps she was making in an attempt to calm herself. She stared fixedly at the Giant's hand in her own, it being the only thing in that moment that kept her from having a full on panic attack.

She must have looked pathetic to him reacting in such a way. And the thing that surprised even her wasn't that her current state was because she had come so close to dying a few moments ago but instead it was because she had killed the creature, she had never killed anything before this moment.

She glanced over at her shoulder as she felt Pascal climb back up to his normal resting place, he gave her a concerned look upon noticing the panic in her eyes. Rapunzel swallowed hard trying to compose herself before turning back to the man in front of her, a small pain ignited in her chest when the Doom Slayer removed his hand from her own when their gazes met. But before she could fully miss the contact she had with him her thoughts were cut short when a high pitched screech echoed from the tunnel. She recognized the sound and she knew he did as well.

Her head twisted around to look back down the tunnel from where they had been, her eyes widening slightly in panic as the faint sound of countless claws scraping across the ground could be heard. The young woman looked back to the man beside her, the Giant glanced down at her and gestured with his head to the other end of the tunnel. Rapunzel almost gave a sigh of relief as she picked up her hair trail and began to run again this time behind the Doom Slayer. She knew he could fight them off if he wanted, but she had taken notice that when he did fight he was almost consistently moving, only standing still for a moment or two to kill a creature up close, so this dark tight corridor did not seem to fit his preferences for battle. Or at least in her mind it didn't.

It was not long after that they had begun to run again when Rapunzel saw daylight ahead, she ignored the ache in her calves and thighs, along with the shortness of her breath and pushed herself to run faster. The Doom Slayer always seeming to be just a foot or two in front of her no matter how fast she moved.

The golden haired girl squinted her eyes almost closed when they emerged outside the tunnel and into the daylight. Her hand raised up to shield her eyes from any direct sunlight until they readjusted to the light. The place they had ended up was less then she had hoped.

The three of them stood at the bottom of a deep ravine, the walls ascended so high that she could barely see the top, several dozen yards away was the old dam, the wood was old and partially rotted with several crude patches nailed into the face of the dam, It appeared to be barely holding itself together. At the other end the ravine stretched on with no end in sight.

She glanced back at the tunnel the screeches, roars and other noises the other creatures made were quickly growing louder. Her head snapped to the Doom Slayer whom was staring at the high walls of the ravine. He looked at her for a moment, then at the tunnel before turning towards the dam, she watched him raise his metal weapon and aim it at the wooden structure. The lid of the small metal box that sat closer to the weapons end opened and two rows of three small metal tubes rose out from within, one by one a small rectangle light lit up on the back of the six metal tubes. The golden haired girl stepped closer to the Doom Slayer as he adjusted his aim and pulled the trigger.

The six metal tubes rocketed away and collided with the face of the dam, each one exploding with more power then the small oval weapon he had used in her tower the previous day. Water gushed out of the six holes in the structure, the rest of the dam began to groan under its own weight and the pressure of the water. She didn't need to know how construction worked to know it was going to collapse at any second.

Before the first trickles of water touched her bare feet the Doom Slayer turned and wrapped on of his massive arms around her stomach and held her back to his chest so tightly it was bordering on pain, his other hand grabbed Pascal from her shoulder and pressed the reptile to her cheek. Then the oddest thing of all happened, The Giant's hand left the reptile's body and barely a second later something was forced over Rapunzel's head with Pascal still on her left cheek. It was damp, smelled terrible and it was hard to breath, she blinked several times before she realized that what was barely an inch from her face was some kind of glass, there were lights, symbols and numbers at all four corners of her vision that she could not understand, she reached up and touched the glass, it wasn't until her hand had explored the rest of the strange thing on her head that it dawned on her what it was.

The Doom Slayer had put his helmet on her.

Rapunzel tried to crane her head around to see the man in hopes to finally see his face but before she could she heard the dam break. She felt the Knight shift his body to brace himself just before the rush of water collided with them.

They were sent tumbling and rolling underwater as the current carried them swiftly down the fast flooding ravine. The Giant's hold on her remaining firm the entire time.

Pascal gripped onto her cheek and let out a squeal of panic while Rapunzel did her best to keep her eyes open, unfortunately that only succeeded in making her nauseous. She was amazed however that the Helmet allowed her to breath underwater which also explained why the Giant had made sure pascal would be inside the helmet when he placed it on her.

After an unknown amount of time the current slowed and the three broke the surface of the water, the young woman didn't open her eyes until she felt damp grass under her hands and shallow ground touch her feet. She pulled the helmet off her head and tossed it aside before crawling onto land coughing and gasping for fresh air, Pascal fell onto the ground and lay on his back while taking in panicked gasps. She hadn't even realized the Doom Slayer had released her until she heard his heavy footsteps nearby, she looked up at the man just in time to see him finishing placing his helmet back on his head, a wave of disappointment struck her at failing to see his face. He looked over at her and waited.

''I'm okay.'' Rapunzel sputtered as she shakily climbed to her feet. ''Are you okay?'' She realized how ridiculous that question was the moment she asked it, he wasn't even out of breath for crying out loud.

The Doom Slayer gestured with his head down stream and began walking away. Rapunzel picked up pascal and followed closely behind the Knight.

Rapunzel jumped slightly when she saw from the corner of her eye the corpse of one of the smaller monsters slowly float down the newly formed river. It was only after seeing the corpse that she realized why the Doom Slayer had destroyed the dam. It was not so that they could escape from the creatures but to drown them while they were still in the tunnels. The young woman averted her eyes from the corpse and fixated her gaze on the back of the Giant's head as they walked down stream.

* * *

It was sunset when they stopped under a large tree whose roots were so massive that some had pushed up from under the ground and were nearly as thick as the trunk itself.

Rapunzel sat on one of the exposed roots shivering from the cold brought on by her damp hair and clothes and the gnawing feeling of hunger had started to return as well, she watched the Doom Slayer as he began to lay stones in a circle for the campfire. Rapunzel breathed on her hands and rubbed them together in an attempt to warm her hands, she raised her hands to her face again and froze, her breath caught in her throat when she saw the dried blood on the tips of her fingers. The image of the monster she had killed flashed in her mind, she felt her stomach twist into a grotesque knot. She looked down at herself and saw the dried blood on the stomach and skirt of her dress. How it had dried so quickly and had not washed off when she was underwater she had no answer to.

Her lips pressed together into a thin line and her shaking hands became worse. She stood from the root she had been using as a seat and walked to the river not even realizing that Pascal had followed her. She sat down with her legs under her and stuck her hands into the freezing water. She held them there until she started to lose feeling in the tips of her fingers, she drew her hands out from the water and began to wash the blood off her hands.

It wasn't coming off. She dunked her hands back into the water and pulled them back out and tried scrubbing her hands harder, it hardly made a difference. Rapunzel was vaguely aware that she was beginning to hyperventilate. She was practically clawing at her skin now leaving deep red welts on her skin, she was so lost in what she was doing she didn't even feel Pascal climb up to her shoulder and cry out as he slapped her cheeks to gain her attention.

She couldn't stop seeing it. The blood, the bone, the pieces of the inside of the monster's skull all spilling onto the ground at her feet. Tears were beginning to well in her eyes clouding her vision.

Then a giant armored hand reached out and gently closed around both of Rapunzel's hands.

The golden haired woman jerked her head around to see the Giant kneeling down beside her looking her in the face.

She hadn't even heard him approach, her chest heaved with her labored breathing and the first of her tears ran down her face.

She watched as the Doom Slayer reached into one of the pouches on his belt and produced a small cloth covered in a variety of different colored stains, he dipped the cloth into the river, he then took one of her hands in his own and began to clean the blood from them.

Just like that morning when he had taught her how to use his weapon, the way he touched her was firm but at the same time gentle. _Like a glass figurine_. She mused.

Several minutes later one of her hands was clean and he began to do the same for her other hand, he had even cleaned under her nails. As she watched the Doom Slayer something caught her eye as he dipped the cloth back into the water. A single drop of blood dripped out from one of the deep claw marks on his left arm. Her mind flashed back to when she had seen him knocked against the tree and the realization that had come with it.

''You're hurt.'' She said more to herself then to the man beside her. The Doom Slayer did nothing to show he had heard her.

The young woman sucked in a deep breath and stood. She took the man's hand and led him back to the campfire that was already burning. ''Sit.'' She ordered with as much authority she could muster and pointed to the root she had been sitting on earlier. ''Please.''

They stared at each other for a few moments the only sound being the wind and the crackling of the fire. The Knight stepped around her and sat upon the root, the plant sagged slightly underneath his massive weight. Rapunzel sat down beside him and once again took her hand in his. ''Okay,'' She began nervously, her moment of confidence quickly dwindling as she began to wrap her trail of hair around his left hand and forearm. ''I know this is going to look really weird but please don't freak out.''

She straightened her back, cleared her throat, closed her eyes and began to sing. '' _Flower, gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine._ '' She peeked open one of her eyes and watched the man. His gaze followed her hair trail as the light traveled down her hair and slowly reached the length on his arm. '' _Heal what has been hurt, change the Fates' design, save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine...What once was mine._ '' She fully opened her eyes when the light from her hair faded and unwrapped her hair from the Doom Slayer's limb. The Giant held up his arm and seemed to inspect it, he rotated his wrist and curled his fingers into such a tight fist that Rapunzel heard his fingers pop. He met her gaze and gave a single slow nod of his head in thanks.

Rapunzel blushed slightly. ''You're welcome.'' It was a bit strange to her that she had so quickly learned how to interpret his minimal gestures.

The Doom Slayer picked up a lock of her golden hair from the root and held it between his thumb and forefinger, the Giant inspected the golden strands for a moment before looking to her.

''My hair?'' She asked. He nodded. ''Well, I was born with it, when I sing that song and my hair glows it can heal just about anything as far as I know, I mostly use it to reverse my mother's age so she can stay young and healthy.'' The young woman ran her fingers through her hair until she found the short lock of dark hair, she pulled it out at an angle so the Man before her could see. ''If it's cut it turns brown and loses its power, then its just normal hair.'' Rapunzel let out a deep sigh as her hands fell into her lap. Her next words came out more crestfallen then she intended. ''And that's why my Mother built the tower you appeared in, because she was afraid someone would steal me and abuse my powers for themselves...this is actually the first time in my life that I've ever been outside.''

She looked up at him, he just looked back at her as still as a statue. He shifted in his seat and reached into one of the pouches on the back of his belt and removed a small bright green rectangle. ''Whats that?'' Rapunzel asked leaning forward to get a closer look. The Doom Slayer gripped the end of the green object with his other hand and broke off the tip, he then held up his left arm and and tipped the end of the rectangle over the claw marks on his forearm. Rapunzel and the reptile seated in the grass close their feet watched in fascination as a bright green slime oozed out from the object and spread over the claw marks in his armor. Once the claw marks were completely covered the green slime started to lose its color, after only a few moments the slime had turned a dark murky green and had hardened. The Knight picked off the hardened material similar to how one would pick off a scab.

Rapunzel's eyes widened, the claw marks were gone, the slime had completely mended his armor. ''You have magic too?'' The Doom Slayer shook his head. ''Then how did you do that?''

The Giant gestured with his head over to the weapon that was currently leaning against the trunk of the tree. So his weapon Didn't work with magic, that fact only created so many more questions for her, there were so many things she wanted to ask but the one question that had been at the forefront of her mind since yesterday was the thing she desired t know the most.

''Doom Slayer,'' She said gaining his attention once again. ''Where are we going?''

The Giant scanned the horizon for several moments until his gaze became fixated on something in the distance. Rapunzel twisted herself around to look in the same direction, off in the distance she could see the tips of several spires that belonged to the towers of the nearby castle. Her head whipped back to the face the man so quickly it almost hurt. ''We're going to the kingdom? You'll take me to see the lanterns?''

He gave a slow single nod of his head.

Rapunzel leapt up from her seat and threw her arms around the Giant's neck. ''Thank you, thank you!'' She cried as she hugged him. It was an odd feeling, he was so solid it felt like she was holding a rock but there was an odd comfort that came from being this close to him. Almost immediately after that thought came to her she removed herself from him and sat back down, hands in her lap and cheeks flushed crimson. She felt sheepish that she had acted so impulsively, yes he had held her twice before but that was in situations where they were in danger. Whereas she had done it out of purely emotional reasons, emotions that she still was trying to properly put words to. She glanced down at Pascal Whom smiled teasingly at her.

The Doom Slayer stood from his seat and Rapunzel raised her head just enough to watch him. He Looked back at her, he pointed to her and then gave his stomach a quick pat.

Rapunzel raised her head fully. ''I'm starving actually.''

The Giant pointed to her and then to the ground, signaling her to wait. He turned and retrieved his weapon from the where it rested against the tree. And strangely to the young woman he paused and looked back at her from over his shoulder, he glanced down at the weapon in his hand, turned back and approached her.

Rapunzel's heart was slamming against her chest when he stood before her again. She had numerous ideas of what could possibly happen next, there were even some rather lewd thoughts dwindling in the deep recesses of her brain. But what happened next never crossed her mind.

The Doom Slayer held out the weapon to her holding it by the middle with only one hand and waited for her to take it, hesitantly the young woman took the weapon and nearly dropped it when the full weight of it was in her hands, she let it rest across her legs and looked up at the Giant and gave him a small smile.

The Doom Slayer nodded his head to her once more before turning back to the woods and quickly disappearing into the night.

Rapunzel set the metal weapon down beside her, the small smile still on her face as she stared at the spot the Doom Slayer had disappeared into.

''Well isn't this nice and cozy?'' A familiar voice said from behind her with mock cheer.

Rapunzel bolted upright and spun around, one of her hands reflectively reaching out towards the weapon. ''Mother?!'' Rapunzel gaped at the cloaked figure. ''How did you find me?''

Gothel stepped forward and pulled down the hood of her cloak. ''It wasn't as hard as you might think, I just followed all the destruction and bloodshed.''

Rapunzel jumped over the root and ran to her Mother and took both of the older women's hands in her own. ''Mother you wouldn't believe whats happened. This man appeared in our tower and-''

''I know what happened to the tower, my Flower, I saw it.'' She reached out and hugged her daughter soothingly petting her hair as she spoke to her. ''But it's alright now, Mother is here to take you home.''

''Take me home?'' She echoed before separating from the older woman. ''We don't even really have a home to go back to.''

''Well we will just have to rebuild it then, think of it as a mother daughter bonding exercise.'' Gothel took Rapunzel's hand and began to gently lead her away from the campfire.

''But I Can't leave now, The Doom Slayer is going to take me to see the lanterns and-''

''The what slayer?'' Gothel interrupted as she stopped and looked at her daughter with a slightly appalled face.

''That's the name of the man I've been with these past two days. He told me he would take me to the kingdom tomorrow, you can come with us! All three of us can see the lights together.''

''The lights? Rapunzel we have been over this, the kingdom is to dangerous for you.''

''Not if I'm with both you and him. He can protect us if we get into trouble.''

Gothel put her hands on her hips and scowled at her daughter.''You mean by destroying and killing anything in his way? I've seen what he does, the violence, the strange weapons he uses and the destruction he leaves in his wake.''

''He did all those things to protect me and the people in the tavern from the monsters.'' The golden haired girl argued.

The older woman's eyes narrowed. ''Ah yes the monsters, care to explain that?''

Rapunzel began to shrink underneath her mother's gaze. ''I-I don't really know what they are, they just followed him after he appeared in the tower.''

Gothel began to walk circles around the younger girl in an almost taunting manner. ''So they followed him after he broke into our home and I imagine it was him who destroyed it, and then to top it off he dragged you along with him and filled your head with these ideas that it was for your own sake.''

''He didn't drag me along, I...I followed him.''

''Followed him.'' She echoed with a click of her tongue. ''So he might not even want you here.''

''That's not true!'' Rapunzel straightened herself and glared at her mother.

''How do you know? Has he ever told you otherwise?''

That one sentence stopped every argument she had. The truth was she didn't know, he interacted with her but that could easily be a matter of proximity. When they had first met he barely even acknowledged she was even there, was he simply humoring her or perhaps tolerating her because she kept following him?

''You see?'' Gothel said soothingly standing in front of her again. ''You don't mean anything to him. And look at the state you are in, dirty, exhausted, blood on your clothes, this is no place for you. Lets go home, my Flower.'' She took her hand and led her away towards the river.

Rapunzel looked back at the campfire. Perhaps it was for the best, he didn't need her company and she was no doubt just a hindrance to him, and it was true that the creatures seemed to be following him, going with her mother was the best choice, she would be safe and taken care of.

Her eyes fell on the weapon she had left against the root and she remembered that morning, when she talked with him in the tavern, when he had placed his helmet on her head, when he had held her in front of him when the tower was destroyed, when he had taught her how his weapon worked and when he gave her that small piece of brass that was currently resting in her pocket.

When he had gone to her when she called out his name.

''No!'' Rapunzel said ripping her hand away from Gothel. ''Maybe he hasn't said otherwise but he has never tried to make me leave. He could have left me at the tavern but he didn't, he could have left me anytime he wanted but he stayed with me. And I believe he cares about me.''

''Cares about you? Don't be ridiculous, we've both seen the things he's done, he's a barbarian.''

''From what you've said it sounds like you only saw him fight. And yes he is violent and destructive when he fights but you haven't spent time with him like I have. He can be gentle, patient, caring and...'' She averted her eyes slightly and spoke her next words almost in realization. ''And I think I like him.''

Gothel recoiled in disgust. ''Like him? Rapunzel that's demented. He's-''

A branch behind them snapped. Rapunzel whirled around to see the Doom Slayer emerge from the woods his twin tubed weapon on his back and two rabbits already skinned and gutted in his right hand. She turned back to her Mother, she would plead with her to talk with him spend just a little time to maybe see the other side of him that she questioned even existed, but when she turned back her Mother was gone. She looked around frantically but there was no sign of her.

With a deep sigh Rapunzel walked back to the campfire.

The Giant had already seated himself on the ground next to the fire and skewered the two rabbit carcasses on large sticks, propping them up over the fire to cook. Rapunzel sat back down on the root, leaned forward propping her elbows up on her thighs and watched him.

Despite what she had said to Gothel there still was doubt in her mind regarding what he thought of her, how he benefited from helping her, she still had no name to give there strange companionship. She would not say they were close, she wasn't even sure she could even call him her friend because deep down she truly did not know.

She noticed the man in question had tilted his head slightly just enough that she could tell he was looking at her from the corner of his eye. She gave a weak and not very convincing smile. He turned his head back to the fire and rotated the cooking meat.

Her worries lightened slightly, it was moments such as just then that gave her confidence that he cared for her. Pascal crawled up into her lap and looked up at her with a small worried gaze. She smiled more fully at the reptile and stroked his back.

Even though there was doubt in her there was no question in her mind that this is truly where she wanted to be. Especially now that she was truly beginning to understand what she felt towards the strange knight.


End file.
